KwaZulu-Natal’s Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader on Friday apologised to the province’s Premier, S’bu Ndebele, over comments he made about the permier’s alleged conflicting business interests.
In a statement released on Friday, the IFP said: ”The leader of the official opposition in KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Lionel Mtshali, has issued a retraction of his press statement ‘Ndebele’s business may constitute conflict of interest’, dated November 13 2007.”
Shortly after the original statement was issued, Ndebele had threatened to sue Mtshali for defamation.
Mtshali, himself a former KwaZulu-Natal premier, said in his statement on November 13: ”There is little doubt that the premier has enjoyed privileged access to capital funding unavailable to many aspiring private individuals. He may well owe his success in business to his position in the provincial government.”
He said Ndebele’s business interests included Nguni stock, dry rice and mushroom farming, and even a Rainbow Chicken franchise.
Mtshali said the IFP would be questioning the premier over his business links and interests.
However, Ndebele described Mtshali’s claims as ”pathetic attempts at attention seeking”.
”For the record, if there were business links, the law requires that there should be [a] declaration of interests which is accessible to anyone wanting to know. Premier Ndebele cultivates no mushrooms, cultivates no rice, has no Nguni cattle linked to government and has absolutely no Rainbow Chicken franchise.”
In the IFP statement issued on Friday, Mtshali said: ”The press statement [from November 13] was written under a misapprehension as to the facts.” He withdrew the entire contents of the original press statement.
”The leader of the official opposition also tenders his sincere apologies for any hurt and injury that the said press statement may have caused Mr JS Ndebele,” Friday’s statement said.
Ndebele was not immediately available for comment. — Sapa